An image forming device such as a laser printer or copier can be rated by the number of pages it can print in a minute. When printing, each page is retrieved from an input tray, transported past components that dispense and fix imaging material such as ink or toner, and then deposited in an output bin. The path between the input tray and the output bin is referred to as a print path. The number of pages that can be printed in a minute depends directly on the print path speed, that is, the speed at which each page travels through the print path.
For a variety of reasons, a given image forming device may be able to support two or more print path speeds. For example, an image forming device may have two input trays. The pick mechanism for retrieving pages from the first tray may be slower than the pick mechanism for the second tray. So, when the first input tray is used, the print path speed is slower than when the second input tray is used. An image forming device such as a laser printer may be capable of printing on pages of varying sizes. Narrow width pages such as envelopes are processed at a slower print path speed to ensure that toner is properly fused. Full width pages can be processed at a faster speed.
Two or more pages may be held within a print path at a given time, so changes in print path speed affect all pages in the path. Consequently, before a print path speed can be increased or decreased, the print path must be cleared. Clearing the print path involves allowing all pages to be dispensed in an output bin before retrieving the next page from an input tray. This results in a delay that can equal or exceed the time it takes to print a page at slow speed.